According to The AIP Bulletin of Science Policy News a letter was sent from a group of 108 corporations, universities, and associations House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey (D-WI) and Ranking Member Jerry Lewis (R-CA) urging them ‘to find a way to provide the increased funding requested for DOE science programs.’” The funding measures of concern included the FY 2011 funding bill by the House Energy and Water Development Appropriations Subcommittee last summer, as well as the 2.2% increase in funding by the Senate Appropriations Committee for the FY 2011 budget for the Office of Science, as opposed to the 6% funding increase requested by the Administration.
The outcome of the funding increases is in doubt, even as the Senate is considering an omnibus spending bill to be passed before January. Some Republicans, including House Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Jerry Lewis, have voiced opposition to these FY2011 funding increases, especially if they are pushed through in an omnibus bill.
In light of the debate, the coalition advocated continued strong funding for federal science programs that maintain funding for “graduate fellowships, additional Energy Frontier Research Centers, [and] an Energy Innovation Hub,” consistent with the American COMPETES measure in 2007.